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Cover of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins
Cover: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Song · The Smashing Pumpkins

“Thirty-Three” by The Smashing Pumpkins

From the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)

“Thirty-Three” by The Smashing Pumpkins appears on 33 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 1996 and 2023. It was first released in 1995 on the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Its best result is #39 on the WEQX Top 102.7 of 1997. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #75 alternative song of 1997, #914 alternative song of all time and #484 of the '90s.

33countdowns
13stations
#39best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1996–2023years charted

Watch

The Smashing Pumpkins - Thirty-Three (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (SmashingPumpkinsVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Thirty-Three" was the fifth and last single from the Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, released in November 1996, and the first to appear after Jimmy Chamberlin's firing and the death of Jonathan Melvoin. Billy Corgan wrote it straight after the Siamese Dream tour, calling it a simple song in a country tuning: the guitars sit a half step down in an open EGBGBE shape, and the drum machine is the very track from his demo, kept because he couldn't recreate it.

That fragility is the point. Corgan, producing with Flood and Alan Moulder, lets it drift like a lullaby for the morning after, all hush and shimmer. It climbed to 39 on the Hot 100, making it the last of their four American top-40 singles, and reached number seven in New Zealand. Corgan later joked he'd meant to follow it with "Sixty-Six" and "Ninety-Nine".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1996 83 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996 107
1997 77 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1997 107
1997 56 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1997 105
1997 44 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1997 101
1997 39 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 1997 103
1997 94 105.7 The Point St. Louis, MO 105.7 The Point Top 105.7 of 1997 106
1997 39 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 97 Songs of 1997 97

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 989 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 1483 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 176 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1483 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1448 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1446 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 1102 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1432 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 427 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 1432 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 1429 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 459 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2007 491 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 449 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 449 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 467 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 441 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 122 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 449 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 446 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 441 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 442 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2020 1858 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 320 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 325 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 332 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420

Also listed as: Thirty Three; Thirty-three.

Charting alongside it in 1997

Best songs of 1997 →
  1. 1Song 2Blur
  2. 2Walkin' On The SunSmash Mouth
  3. 3TubthumpingChumbawamba
  4. 4FlySugar Ray
  5. 5The Impression That I GetThe Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  6. 6Semi-Charmed LifeThird Eye Blind

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